Unemployment numbers improve -- except for veterans of war

Published
2:01 pm EDT, Monday, April 16, 2012

Much attention is given in the news columns these days to the level of unemployment in the nation, a most significant barometer of the nation's economic health. Each slight tick in the unemployment rate draws instant attention from the investment market and the public in general -- especially those who may not have a job.

Jobless claims in the nation fell to the lowest level in four years -- but that's a rate that is much in the eye of the beholder. The Labor Department noted that weekly unemployment benefit applications fell to 359,000 last week, the smallest number of applications since April 2008.

That's the glass half full -- the glass half empty is represented by those unemployed who have given up their search for work after months -- in some cases more than a year.

There's good news that companies are hiring as the economy picks up, even though the improvement last month was not as good as was hoped for.

The situation for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is far more bleak than the national scene is for the rest of us. While the national jobless rate may be declining, for veterans from the mideast wars is rising.

The weight of the joblessness falls heaviest on young veterans in the group of age 18 to 24, many of whom entered the service -- and the war -- with little or no job experience before their enlistment. And keep in mind, they enlisted, they were not drafted. Some went out of a sense of patriotism, others as an alternative to an elusive civilian job. Still others, their hitch up, return to find that the low-level job they had is no longer available. Many veterans bear the scars of war, which because of advances in medical science, have brought them home alive, something not possible in wars past.

Some major industries are stepping up to the plate. General Electric, based in Fairfield, has pledged to hire 1,000 veterans each year for the next five years. Congress has created the "VOW to Hire Heroes Act, offering a tax credit of up to $5,600 to any employer who hires a veteran who has been out of work for more than six months and up to $9,600 if the veteran has a service-connected disability.

The federal Veterans Job Bank provides a connection to the National Resource Directory, linking service members, veterans and their families and caregivers with those who can offer support. The Jobs Bank can be accessed at www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/commitments.